pmp

Apple's iPhone 5 event will share stage time with a new range of iPods, with further details on the updated PMPs slipping out in advance of the big unveil. A refresh to the iPod touch was already expected, as well as capacity changes to other iPod models, with the most obvious difference being a 1136 x 640 Retina Display as per the iPhone 5.

Samsung's iPod touch-rivaling media player range has sprouted an even bigger model, with the Galaxy Player 5.8 managing to make even the Galaxy Note look small. The 5.8-inch PMP has a 960 x 540 qHD resolution LCD touchscreen in a chassis that looks like an oversized Galaxy S III with the twin speaker grills of the Galaxy Note 10.1.

Samsung isn’t just planning a sequel to the Galaxy Note, with a leak suggesting that the company is also planning on refreshing its Galaxy Player devices, PMPs running Android with WiFi connectivity. According to a picture and information handed to SamMobile, Samsung is planning a huge 5.8-inch screen for its next Galaxy Player device, bringing with it some mid-range specs in the process.

Ex-Microsoft exec and shepherd of both Xbox and Zune, Robbie Bach, has admitted that the Zune PMP was a cavalcade of mistakes, though argues his entertainment division team did try to replicate its successful gaming strategy with its iPod rival. Speaking at a Northwest Entrepreneur Network event in Seattle, Geekwire reports, Bach described the Zune project as "probably universally viewed as less of a success" than Xbox, though denied that either had succeeded or failed because they were part of the Microsoft behemoth.

Samsung has unveiled its latest media player, and the device is called the Galaxy Player 70 Plus. The media player will be launching today in Korea. The player has a five-inch screen and uses a 1 GHz dual-core processor. This is one big PMP and a screen this large should make watching video content on the go very comfortable and enjoyable.

If the Galaxy Note 10.1 is too large and stylus-obsessed for you, Samsung has another new tablet-phone that might tickle your fancy, the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.2. As the name suggests, it's a 4.2-inch Android device with a WVGA IPS LCD display, plus a 2-megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing VGA camera.

When Apple announced its fiscal first quarter earnings last week, which encompassed the three months ended December 2011, much of the attention went to the company’s exceedingly strong iPhone and iPad sales. There was also a lot of talk about its huge profit and exploding cash reserves.

Pop fop Justin Bieber's show-stopping CES 2012 appearance is believed to have cost toy manufacturer Tosy a six-figure sum, according to insiders, meaning the firm will have to sell plenty of $200 robots just to cover the singer's fee. Exact details of the Tosy deal have not been revealed, but Bieber apparently pocketed more than $100k for the brief appearance alongside the mRobo Ultra Robot, The Daily was told.

Last month we saw the Sony Walkman Z1000 Android-powered medial player cross the FCC. Sony has gone official with the new line of players at CES. The Z1000 has several model numbers in it that are differentiated by their storage capacity. The Z1040 is 8GB, the Z1050 is 16GB, and the Z1060 is a 32GB player.

Google is readying a music download store described by Android boss Andy Rubin as having "a little twist" to the concept, as the search giant continues to challenge Apple and Amazon. The upcoming music service will not only have the support of the record labels but "will have a little twist ... a little Google in it" Rubin teased. "It won't just be selling 99 cent tracks."